Vending machine



Deb. 25, 1928. 1,696,494

H. LOWRY VENDING MACHINE Filed July 26 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Hm ATTORNEY -HENRY L. LOWRY, OF MORRILL, KANSAS.

VENDING mnonrnn.

Application filed July 26, 1928. Serial No. 295,421.

My invention relates to improvements in vendmg machines.

It is particularly well adapted for feeding paper from a roll upon the deposition in the machine of a proper coin or check.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel machine for vending, from a roll, sheets of paper adapted forsanitary use in covering Water-closet seats.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel coin controlled vending machine of the kind described, which is simple, cheap, durable, not likely to get out of order, which is easily operated, and which is eifls cient in its operation.

Thenovel features of my invention are hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, I

Fig. ,1 is a reduced perspective view of my improved vending machine.

F ig; 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the same, partly broken away, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental vertical sectional view, partly broken away, of a portion of the coin controlled mechanism,.

the pawl being shown in the coin dropping position.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the seat covers detached from the roll of paper.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5.5 of Fig. 4.

7, the coin chute being removed.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 6. j

.Similar reference characters designate similar parts in the diflerent views.

My improved vending machine is provided with an outer casing 1 having an opening at the top normally closed by a cover 2 hinged to the casing l by hinges 3, and which may be provided'with a look, not shown, for preventing, unauthorized access thereto The front of the casing 1 is pro vided with an inclined coin chute 4 adapted to receive proper coins or checks.

In the casing 1, and mounted on the bottom thereof, is a frame 5, having at opposite sides respectively two horizontal bars 6 and 7, the bar 6 having therethrough a horizontal hole 7 adapted to receive therein and rotatably support a horizontal shaft 8 which is also adapted to be rotatably supported in Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig.

an arcuate notch 9 in the bottom of a recess 10 in the upper side of the bar 7.

A bearing member 11 is fitted in the recess 10 in which it is held by two vertical bolts 12 and which extend through the member 11 and are respectively fitted in threaded holes provided therefor in the bar 7. Two coil springs 13 are respectively mounted on the bolts 12 and bear at their upper ends against the heads of the bolts 12, and at their lower ends they bear against theupper side of the bearing member 11, and hold the latter against the shaft 8 with a yielding pressure, so as to serve as braking means on the shaft.

14 designates a wooden roller mounted on and rotatable with theshaft 8, and on which is wound a roll of paper 15, which is to be vended. The roll 15, as shown comprises a strip of paper having spaced transverse rows 16 of perforations, Fig. 4, which perforations enable separate seat covers 17,

Figs. 4 and 5, to be readily consecutively detached from the roll ,15.

Each seat cover 17 has a large opening 18 therethrough adapted to register with the seat opening, when the cover is fitted on a seat, not shown,

The cover 17 at the forward part of the opening 18 is provided with a flap 19 adapted to be bent downwardly into the seat opening, when the cover is mounted on the seat.

The longitudinal edge portions of the paper strip are folded inwardly at 20, Figs. 4 and 5, and are designed'to be extended downwardly and under the side edges of the seat, when the cover is mounted thereon.

In order that the sheet 15 may be fed from the roll without gaining or losing in the feeding operations, the edge portions 20 are, preferably, respectively provided therethrough with two longitudinal rows of perforations 21 which are adapted to receive the teeth of a feeding roller. I

h For feeding the paper from the roll, there is provided a horizontal feed roller 22, Figs. 6 and 7, disposed between the sides of the frame 5 and which is provided with a central axial shaft 23 rotatably mounted in the frame 5, and which extends at one end through the adjacent side wall of the casing l, the projecting end portion of the shaft having a crank 24 by which the, roller 22 may be rotated so as to feed paper from the roll.

.Coope1'ati11g with the feed roller 22 is a roller 25, which is parallel with the roller 22, and which is provided with two annular rows of peripheral teeth 26, which are adapted to extend through the perforations 21 of the paper strip and to enter corresponding peripheral recesses 27 in the feed roller 22.

The roller 25 has an axial shaft 28 which is rotatably rounted in the frame 5.

The strip of paper 15 passes between the feed rollers 22 and 25, and through an opening 29 in the bottom of the casing 1, Fig. 3, being guided tl'ierethrough by and upon the upper side of an angle plate'30, which eX- tends through the opening 29, and is fastened at its upper end to the upper side of the bottom of the casing 1.

The arrangement of the teeth 26 and recesses 27 is such that, when the crank 24 is turned in the proper direction, with the teeth 26 entering the perforations 21 and recesses 27, the strip of paper will be fed from the roll through the opening 29, when the covers 17 maybe consecutively detached at the outor side of the casing 1.

To prevent the turning of the crank 24, and to prevent the pulling of the strip of paper from the roll through the opening 29, unless a proper coin is deposited in the machine through the chute 4, the following coin controlled mechanism is provided.

Fastened to the shaft '23 of the feed roller .22 and rotatable therewith is a rotary member comprising awheel 31 having an annular peripheral groove 32 across which extends a pin 33, which forms a tooth adapted to he engaged and hold by a hook '34 at the rear end of a pawl 35, which is pivotally mounted on a horizontal bolt 36 mounted in -wh-ich adapted to receive a coin 38, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the weight of which coin is sufficient to swing the pawl '35, so as to release the hook 34 from the pin tooth 33, and to movethe pawl to the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position the coin 38 will fall from the recess 37 onto the bottom of the casing 1;

The weight of that portion of the pawl 35, which is at the left of its fulcrum, the bolt 36, as viewed in Fig. 3, is sufficiently greater than that which is at the right of said bolt 36, 'asYto cause the pawl 35 to automatically swing to its initial position, in which the hook 34 will be in the groove 32 in the path traversed by the pin 'tooth33.

Toprevent the pawl, after it has received the coin 38, swinging at once to the coin 7 dropping position shown in Fig 3, I provide means for holding the pawl 35 in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, in

which position it will have been moved by the coin 38, and will have released the pin tooth 33.

Such means preferably comprises the following described parts. Pivoted on the bolt 36 is "a lever, which, as shown, comprises a wire loosely coiled around the bolt 36 and having an arm '39 which extends'forwardly and under and in the path of the pawl. 35. Said wire lever has at its other end portion an arm 40 which is provided with an eye 41 which pivotally engages an eye 42of a wire link 43, the rear end of which is pivoted on a screw 44 eccentrically mounted in the outer side of the rotary member '31.

Vhenthc rotary member 31 is in its initial position, shown in Fig. 2, with the pin tooth 33 engaged by the pawl hook 34, the arm 39 of the lever will be held by the link 4.3 in the position shown in Fig. 2. If new a coin is inserted in the coin chute 4, the coin will pass from the chute into the recess 37 of the pawl 35, thus swinging the pawl out of engagement with the pin tooth 33 and into engagement with "the arm '39. In this posi tion of the pawl, the coin 38 can not fall from the recess 37.

If new the crank 24 be turned in a direc-' tion such as will turn the feed roller 22 couliter-clockwise, as viewed from the left, the paper strip 15 will be fed through the opening 29 and the rotary member 31 will be turned counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, and in turning to the position shown in Fig. 3, the rotary member 23, by means of the link43,wi'll swing the lever 'arm 39 to the positionshown in Fig; '3, thus permitting the'pawl '35 to swing to the coin dropping position shown in Fig. 3.

Upon the dropping of the coin, the pawl 35 will automatically swing to its initial position with the hook '34 in the groove 32 of the rotary member 31. Upon continued turning of the crank 24:, the feed roller 22 and member 31 will be revolved a complete revolution, at which time the hook 34 of the pawl 35 will re-engage the pin tooth '33, thus stopping'the feed of the paper by stopping the rotation of the member 31 and feed roller 22.

The diameter of the roller 22 is such that when it has made a revolution, the paper strip will have been fed through the opening 29 the length of one seat cover 17 upon Which the projecting seat cover may be read ily detached along the row of perforations 16 which at that time will register with the lower edge of the plate 30.

The parts will now be in their original positions, and upon-the i-nsertionof another coin through the coin chute 4 and turning the crank '24, as described, another seat cover may be fed from the roll through the opening 29.

The coil springs 13 bearing on the bearing,

member 11, and the latter bearing on the shaft 8, prevent the paper roll from over running when the paper is withdrawn therefrom.

I do not limit my invention to the structure shown and described, as many modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made without depart-ing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a vending machine, a rotary member having a stop tooth, a pawl having means for engaging said tooth to hold said member from turning in one direction from an initial position, said pawl. being automatically movable to said'engaging position and having means for supporting a deposited coin and being movable by said coin from said engaging position to a position in which the coin will fall from said pawl, a lever movable to and from a position in which it will engage and hold said pawl from moving to the coin dropping position after the pawl has been released from said tooth, and means actuated by said rotary member, after the latter has been turned a predetermined distance from said initial position, for first swinging said lever from and then swinging it to said pawl holding position.

2. In a vending machine, a rotary member having a stop tooth, a pawl having means for engaging said tooth to hold said member from turning in one direction from an initial position, said pawl being automatically movable to said engaging position and having means for supporting a deposited coin and being movable by said coin from said engaging position to a position in which the coin will fall from said pawl, a lever movable to and from a position in which it will engage and hold said pawl from moving to the coin dropping position after the pawl has been released from said tooth, and a link eccentrically pivoted to said rotary member and to said lever and arranged to swing said lever from and then to said pawl holding position, after said rotary member has been turned a predetermined distance from said initial position.

3. In a vending machine, a rotary memher having a tooth, a pivoted pawl having at one side of its fulcrum a hook for engag ing said tooth to hold said member from turning in one direction from an initial posit-ion, the pawl at the other side of its fulcrum having means for catching and hold ing a deposited coin adapted to swing said pawl from the tooth engaging position, the

pawl being automatically retracted to said engaging position, said pawl being movable by said coin to a position in which the coin will fall from said pawl, a lever movable to and from a position in which it will engage and hold said pawl from moving to the coin dropping position after the pawl has been released from said tooth, and means engaging said rotary member and lever by which, when the rotary member is rotated from its initial position in said direction a predetermined distance, said lever will be swung from and then to said holding position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY L. LOVVRY. 

